1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle organizer system, for the cargo compartment of a vehicle.
Throughout this description, in the interest of consistency and certainty, xe2x80x9cfrontxe2x80x9d is with reference to the front of the vehicle, and xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbackxe2x80x9d is with reference to the rear of the vehicle. Thus, for example, the rear of an automobile trunk or of the liner is intended to mean the portion closest to the rear of the automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Historically, vehicle cargo compartment areas such as automobile trunks (or xe2x80x9cbootsxe2x80x9d), have been lacking in several respects for the user. With the ever-increasing popularity of so-called mini-vans, the cargo space has increased, but the basic drawbacks are the same.
Firstly, dirt and spills are difficult to clean up because there is often poor accessibility to the cargo compartment area, particularly in the case of automobile trunks, making cleaning efforts awkward. Corrosive and grimy substances stain and even damage the cargo compartment carpeting and flooring.
Secondly, there is a desire and need to utilize cargo compartments to carry corrosive and grimy substances and the like, but there is a reluctance to do so because of the negative results, such as dirtying, dis-colouration and damaging the cargo compartment carpet, or similar.
Thirdly, cargo compartment areas commonly have poor storage and organization capability, one problem being that heavy cargo could slide on the cargo compartment floor and damage lighter, fragile cargo, and the present invention addresses that problem as well.
To address these problems, a rigid cargo compartment liner was developed as disclosed in WO 94/12370. The liner comprises a generally trough shaped plastic liner, optionally provided with a plurality of dividers, for dividing the larger space inside the liner into several smaller areas. The one-piece construction of the trough part of the liner, i.e. the side walls and the bottom wall, provide an effective means of keeping dirt and unwanted substances inside the liner and away from the cargo area carpet. One apparent drawback with the rigid liner is that it can be difficult to install in a vehicle, especially if the cargo opening is smaller than the cargo area itself, since the liner is rigid. In this case, the liner also has to be made of an overall dimension which will fit into the cargo opening, but will leave some areas of the cargo space not covered by the liner. Thus, either the cargo space is not fully utilized, or there remains a risk that cargo placed outside the liner will dirty or damage the cargo area.
It is an object of the invention to provide an organizer system that may easily be incorporated into the cargo compartment of a vehicle, regardless of the shape and size of the access opening to that space. The liner is offered as a means of enabling users to broaden cargo compartment usage without fear of cargo causing damage to the cargo compartment area, and with the knowledge that virtually any resulting mess can be cleaned up in minutes.
Another object of the invention is to provide a cargo compartment vehicle organizer system that offers various benefits, including complete protection as a liner with organizational capability using a series of partitions, and overall convenience through various add-on features that are incorporated with the main embodiment of the complete product. The liner also improves storage capability by increasing the useable storage space of the cargo area of the vehicle. The system is offered as a means of providing increased overall flexibility, protection of the cargo area hold of sport utility vehicles, vans and station wagons, as well as the trunks of passenger cars. The system does not interfere with existing vehicle features, but is integral with them, such as cargo net hooks, jack access panels, air conditioning vents and sub-floor access panels. The organizer liner could also, at least in part, replace the carpet in the cargo compartment, obviating the need to install this carpet during vehicle assembly. The organizer liner also eliminates squeaks and rattles, due to its construction.
In the invention, an organizer liner is provided for use in a vehicle cargo compartment. The liner preferably has a flexible bottom conforming generally to the shape of the cargo compartment floor, and one or more of rear, side and front rigid elements, at least some of which generally conform to the shape of the walls and/or the floor of the cargo compartment. Optional partition dividers may be provided. The dividers may be ribbed or otherwise profiled for greater rigidity and strength, and may be supported by grooves in the walls of the organizer liner. The dividers include at least one long reinforced divider between opposite walls of the liner or, and optionally at least one short divider between the long divider and a wall of the liner or between two long dividers. The long divider is preferably also supported at opposite ends by grooves in the walls of the liner. The reinforcement is preferably on the side of the long divider opposite the short divider(s), and is preferably continuous along the long divider.
Preferably, each short divider has a vertical slot at one end thereof defining a hook portion adapted to hook over the long divider. The hook portion preferably extends downwardly far enough to overlie at least one of the ribs of the long divider in a friction fit.
The liner can be adapted to the cargo compartment of virtually any vehicle, including but not limited to automobile trunks, station wagon rear compartments, and van, minivan or xe2x80x9c4xc3x974xe2x80x9d luggage areas.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.